HELP A CHILD INC

Help A Child is committed to giving children the opportunity to go to school. All children receiving support through Help A Child are offered an education. Help A Child also builds schools in Ethiopia and northeast India. In the northern Indian state of Assam, there are very few schools. Recently this region experienced much turmoil as a result of tribal conflict. It is an underdeveloped region with a critical shortage of schools for children. The Indian government promises to provide education for all children and claims that there are already a sufficient number of schools in Assam. Unfortunately this is often not the case. For too many children the closest school is miles and miles away. In recent years many schools have been built through the support of Help A Child. Hundreds of children can attend school for the first time.

In many parts of Ethiopia children are unable to go to school. In 2006 we began a major education initiative in Ethiopia. Together with our local partner organization, the Kale Heywet Church, construction is underway on what will eventually be 35 new schools. These schools are being built in the Rift Valley, a very impoverished part of Ethiopia. In the coming years, about 15,000 children will be able to attend school for the first time as a result of this undertaking.

Paid employment or the chance to own and run one's own business, is of vital importance for the economic stability and future hopes of children and their families in developing countries. Because of this Help A Child and our partner organizations in Kenya, Ethiopia and India have implemented one-year job training courses aimed at providing marketable skills to young adults who need a helping hand. The goal is to find a job or self-employment for each participant in the program. The young men and women admitted to this program come from very poor families and at-risk populations. For each individual a training course is selected that is best suited to his or her particular situation. Participants are taught skills that are in demand in their communities, can be learned in a course lasting one year and that will lead to the ability to earn a decent living. In a society with very high unemployment it is crucial to strengthen the local economy. It is better to increase the size of the pie rather than divide that same pie into smaller and smaller pieces. In Kenya job training is being offered in four different localities: Maai Mahiu, Kima, Eldoret and the capital city of Nairobi. The young adults enrolled in this program often come from the slums or impoverished rural villages. Some of the courses offered are carpentry, hair styling, leather work, clothing production, metal work, automotive repair and secretarial skills. In Kenya alone our goal is to supply 1,200 young graduates with good jobs each year. We have three partner organizations in India that are providing job training. RPC works in the state of Assam in the extreme northeast of India. The other partners, Bethel and VTRC operate in the south of India. In 2006 VTRC started a teacher training course. We plan to dramatically increase the job training outreach in India in the coming years.

Millions of children in the Third World are victims of AIDS. Their fathers and mothers die as a result of the disease. Many of these children are infected as well. Help A Child provides care for these children and helps in the fight against this terrible disease. Our goal is to provide these children and their families with hope for the future.
A number of Help A Child partners have important programs in place aimed at AIDS patients and their families. Through these programs they strive to alleviate suffering by means of home visitation, instruction, medicine and nutritional supplements. They discuss various options for the children's future with the parents. One of our partners is Care located in South India. Here, a large contingent of staff members and volunteers are making a difference in the fight against AIDS. Their efforts are aimed at helping families. They visit the patients in their homes to determine what help is needed on a case by case basis. An individualized plan of care is established. They also pray with the patients. These families are very grateful for the help that Care provides. Help a Child wants to expand our outreach to families affected by AIDS. More money is needed to bring this about. Will you help us in this effort?

Children are often the ones who suffer the most in the wake of natural disasters. Therefore Help A Child is always prepared to lend emergency relief in the countries in which our partner organizations are active. In recent years tens of thousands of children and their families have been provided with aid as a result of drought, earthquake, tsunami and civil war.